


Symphony of 'Mons and Magic

by Sleepysaur



Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Seven Treasures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-06-26 03:56:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15655287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepysaur/pseuds/Sleepysaur
Summary: When Link's search for Navi takes a mysterious turn, he finds himself in a strange land... and a strange body. Accompanied by a new friend, he is soon caught up in a new quest. But many questions remain unanswered. Chief among them: how and why did Link wind up here?





	1. Chapter 1

In hindsight, traveling through the Lost Woods at night with Epona wasn't one of his best ideas.

Running straight into a bog like that could have easily ended far worse than it had. All things considered, Link had lucked out. For one thing, Epona hadn't been hurt. Scared out of her wits, yes, but not hurt. Link never would have forgiven himself if his own stubborn stupidity had gotten her killed. Plus Link himself had managed to escape the bog, too.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for his supplies. In his rush to keep himself and Epona from getting stuck, Link had managed to drop everything he was carrying. His sword, shield, and even his bag were now all sunken somewhere in the bog. Which meant he was in the middle of the woods with absolutely nothing but a frightened Epona and the clothes he was already wearing.

Well, first things first. And the first thing that needed done was calming down Epona. Link gently patted her and sighed. "It's okay, girl. We're safe. We're okay." Over the next few minutes, Epona slowly relaxed as Link kept patting her and murmuring reassurances. Soon enough she was nickering and nuzzling him, much to Link's relief. With Epona taken care of, he could consider his next move.

Link didn't think he'd need to worry about the food he'd lost. He'd grown up in the forest and already knew how to find food here. The loss of his sword and shield stung a bit more, but Link didn't actually need them to defend himself. Not with how common Deku Sticks and Deku Nuts were around here. Losing his healing potions was unlikely to be a problem either. He only had them in the first place because Malon had insisted he take them; apparently, horses couldn't heal from injuries like broken bones well without magical help (a fact which highlighted just how stupid Link's recent actions were), and she refused to let her favorite horse out of her sight without Link promising to follow every rule she gave him.

No, the worst loss was the Ocarina of Time. It was a powerful magical artifact, capable of even manipulating the flow of time itself. More importantly, it was a gift from Princess Zelda. Link really, _really_ did not want to lose it. Getting it back was his top priority.

"Well, girl," he said to Epona. "I guess we're camping here while I try to figure out what I'm doing."

Epona snorted and shook her head. Link had the distinct impression she was calling him an idiot.

* * *

By morning Link had come up with several ideas. Granted, he still struggled with the specifics of how to actually get his belongings out of the bog, but he had the beginnings of a plan, at least.

Step one was to locate where exactly in the bog he would find the Ocarina of Time. Since it contained such powerful magic, Link figured it probably had an aura magical beings like fairies could detect. They likely could even figure out precisely how deep it was. So the first thing he needed to do was find a fairy to help him.

By Farore, he wished Navi was here.

Once Link knew the Ocarina's location, the next step would be to find a way to get his bag out. That was significantly harder. If he was lucky, it would be somewhere shallow and near the edge. He could probably fish it out with a stick if that was the case. But if it wasn't? Link honestly wasn't sure what to do at that point. He'd thought, just for a moment, about chucking a few dozen Deku Nuts at the bog all at once to try and evaporate the entire thing. He'd regained his senses and realized how stupid that idea was when he started searching for nuts and tripped over a root.

In Link's defense, he'd been awake for about fifty-five hours straight at that point and his judgment was a bit impaired. To be honest, that fact probably was a large part of why he was in this situation in the first place. _That_ realization was what pushed him to finally get some sleep, something Epona had seemed to approve of wholeheartedly.

Looking at the problem with a refreshed mind the next morning, Link couldn't help but wonder if retrieving the Ocarina was a doomed endeavor.

"Maybe you're right, Epona." Link leaned on a nearby tree. "Maybe I am an idiot."

Epona flicked her ear.

"Still, though, I don't want to just give up on it." Link straightened and stretched his arms over his head. "I'll at least go look for a fairy. Who knows? Maybe they'll have some ideas."

* * *

"Ah! Here we are!"

Link grinned as he pushed through a bush and shimmied down the hole he'd found yesterday. There was a reason he was searching for Navi in this particular part of the forest. Fairies were plentiful in the Kokiri Forest in general, and in this part of the Lost Woods they were _everywhere_. Link had been tracking down every fairy fountain he could find. Even if Navi wasn't in a fountain, he still might talk to some other fairy who knew where she'd gone. This fountain was home to quite a few friendly fairies who had promised to keep an eye out. They'd also told him he was free to stop by for help any time he needed to. To be fair, they'd meant if he or Epona needed healing (which was why Link was so unconcerned with whether or not he had healing potions on him), but even so he was sure one of them would be willing to lend a hand.

"Hello?" Link called out. "It's me again, sorry to disturb you so soon." He stepped forward and blinked as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness... wait, darkness?

Link gaped before running ahead. It was only a moment before his feet hit the water, but he still saw nothing. Not one tell-tale fairy glow. 

Link rubbed his eyes and headed back outside. Where in the world had the fairies gone? 

"I'll just check the next fairy fountain," Link muttered. No big deal, really. Maybe they'd just gone to help an injured fawn or something. All of them, all at once. Fairies were nice that way. It was probably fine. 

Somehow telling himself this didn't stop the flicker of worry inside his chest.

* * *

Three empty fountains later, including one that he knew belonged to a Great Fairy, Link was well and truly panicked. Not even Ganondorf had managed to do anything to harm the fairies, and now here were a bunch of missing ones! All gone without a trace, and within the deepest confines of the Lost Woods too! What on earth could have caused so many fairies to disappear? 

Link slumped to the ground. Any further fountains were far enough away from the bog that it seemed too far to even bother checking. Besides, somehow he doubted he would find any fairies there, either. 

_Where did you all go?_

Link looked at the tree branches above him as they gently swayed in the breeze. This forest was his home. Maybe he hadn't been born there, but it had still been home for as long as he could remember. And even in that bad future where Ganondorf had taken over and the forest had been overrun by monsters.... Even then, the fairies had been okay. He could enter any fairy fountain and find the fairies floating around like nothing had changed. When everything else had gone to hell, the fairies were constant. 

What did it mean if they were gone? 

With nothing but questions and half-formed worries floating in his mind, Link couldn't bear to stay still and do nothing. But without any leads, he had nowhere to go but back to Epona. Maybe he could talk to her about it. Even if she couldn't talk back, she would at least help him clear his mind. 

Nodding to himself, Link stood and stretched his legs out before turning around and walking the way he'd come. He'd gone farther than he'd meant to, so he had a bit of a hike ahead of him. But that was okay. At least walking meant he felt like he was doing something.

* * *

After about twenty minutes, Link heard it. 

It took him a few seconds to actually process the sound. When he did, he thought maybe he'd imagined it, that perhaps he'd wanted to hear it so badly that he was hearing something that wasn't really there. Then he heard it again. 

That quick distinctive chiming. 

Link snapped his head up. There! A small group of fairies zooming through the forest. Link felt a weight lift from his chest. The fairies hadn't all disappeared! Almost without thinking, he found himself running to catch up with them. 

"Hey!" he called out. "Where have you guys all been? I've been looking—" Link cut himself off as he realized they were moving away from him. "Wait! Come back!" 

The fairies ignored him. Link pumped his legs to keep up. "Hey! Come on! I'm talking to you!" Nothing. Link kept his eyes focused straight on the fairies. He needed to get closer, to stay close and find out what the heck was going on. He managed to make out what some snippets of panicked-sounding conversation. He heard a mention of _missing_ , something about _others_ and _this way_ , and suddenly the hope he felt earlier was snuffed out. Something was wrong after all.

"Hello!" he cried out. "What's going on? Maybe I can help! Please!" Link threw everything he had into one final burst of speed. Just a little bit closer... 

Suddenly his foot hit air where it should have hit the ground. Link finally tore his eyes away from the fairies he'd been following only to see empty space in front of him. He flailed, trying to regain his balance, but his momentum carried him forward. An involuntary shriek slipped out as he fell into the darkness. 

The fairies, at least, finally had noticed him. At Link's scream they'd gasped and dove down after him. It seemed a pointless gesture, Link thought distantly, but it was still pretty nice of them to try and help. 

Or maybe it wasn't pointless? Maybe they planned to heal him after he hit the ground instead of trying to break his fall. That was probably it. Right now they were following his descent at a steady speed instead of getting close enough to catch up, like they would be doing if they were trying to slow his fall down. Healing him after the fall made a lot more sense. 

Wow, he sure had been falling for a while. He wouldn't hit the ground so hard he would immediately die, would he? Hopefully not. All he needed to do was survive the initial impact and the fairies would take care of the rest. 

He probably shouldn't think so casually about his possible impending death. Navi used to scold him for that sort of thing during his quest. He couldn't help it, though. His first near-death experience was getting fried by King Dodongo, something he'd only survived because earlier a passing fairy had agreed to stay in a bottle until she was needed. It had been a terrifying moment. It was the first time he'd realized dying was actually a real possibility for him, and he hadn't even been a proper Hero yet. He'd soon realized it was either be constantly paralyzed by the terror of that realization or get used to death always hovering over him, and Link didn't really have a choice in the matter on that one. Not after Ganondorf took over and all of Hyrule was at stake. Which meant Link had to learn to not be afraid of dying. 

Sometimes he'd even make jokes about it. It always mortified Navi when he did, but she'd eventually decided to let him do it without comment after they'd met a surviving soldier in the future Kakariko who told them it was normal. Said something about how soldiers often used morbid humor to cope. She'd still get on his case if she thought he was doing it too much, though. 

Was he _still_ falling? This was getting ridiculous. This wasn't some ordinary pit. It had to be one of those magical parts of the Lost Woods that took you somewhere else. There's no way he wouldn't have hit the ground by now if it wasn't. And of course this couldn't be one of those where it would be easy to go back and forth. Not like the warps to Goron City and Zora's Domain. This one he had no way of climbing back up. 

Maybe the fairies above him would know a way a person without wings could return. He still needed to recover the Ocarina and find Navi, after all. And he'd left Epona! What would happen to her if he couldn't get back? Would she find a way out of the woods on her own and return to Lon Lon Ranch? Or would she get lost trying to find a way out and die? Or maybe she would never try to escape at all, instead loyally staying right where she was even as time passed and her strength left her? Or what if— 

_Pain._ So much pain. Oh Farore, he'd never felt so much _pain_ before— 

He immediately blacked out. 

* * *

"—ight be starting to wake up!" 

Link's head was killing him. Well, so was the rest of him, but his head was especially bad. He hoped whoever was talking would stop; they were making everything hurt more. He just wanted to lie here in peace. 

"Bronte, give me some of the ground-up oran berry." 

"On it!" A moment passed. 

"Thank you. Now please go keep your brother out of our fur, okay?" Another moment, and then Link felt something in his mouth. 

"Do you think you can swallow this, dear? It'll make you feel better." Better? Link didn't feel like trying to do much of anything, but if it made the pain go away he was willing to give it a shot. His tongue twitched a few times as he tried to remember how to swallow. Finally he managed to get some of whatever was in his mouth down, and the pain lessened enough to let Link swallow again with considerably less difficulty. 

With the pain's disappearance, his mind finally decided it was okay to focus on other matters. Matters like figuring out what was going on. Link opened his eyes. Standing above him was... orange? He blinked a few times and a strange face came into focus. It belonged to an orange creature he had never seen before, with big ears and a short animal muzzle and yellow circles on its cheeks. 

Well. Link may not have known what sort of being this was, but it wasn't like he'd never made friends with people whose species he'd never seen before. Whoever this was, Link was certain he owed his life to them, and that meant they were friendly. Probably. 

"T-thank you," Link rasped. He may not have been in pain anymore, but by the Goddesses did he still feel weird. Even the act of talking called attention to how weird he felt. His mouth just felt... wrong. 

The strange creature beamed. "It's no problem at all. Why, it's my granddaughter you should be thanking, she's the one who found you. Do you remember what happened?" 

"I... fell?" Link wasn't quite sure how to explain what had happened. The Lost Woods warps weren't exactly common knowledge in Hyrule, and Goddesses knew if anybody here had ever heard of such things. How in the world were you supposed to tell people that you accidentally fell into a portal and wound up Farore-knows-where? And how in the world had Link managed to be so careless, anyway? If only he hadn't been so completely focused on the fairies he'd been chasing... The fairies! 

Link gasped. He still didn't know what happened to the fairies! He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Panicking hadn't exactly done him any favors, after all. He needed to approach this calmly and rationally. "Excuse me, but did you see any fairies around?" 

"Fairies?" The creature scrunched up their face."Well, there's a family of Snubbull who live nearby, but otherwise you don't see many fairy types around here. Do you mean them?" 

"N-no, that's not it," Link said, confused. What were Snubbull? Were they a specific type of fairy? They didn't sound like it, but maybe they used different words for fairies here. "I just remember running after some fairies, and then I fell, and then I was here." 

"What sort of fairies were they, dearie?" 

_What?_ "Um, they were really small and had wings?" 

"I see." The creature sighed. "Well, it's all right. Maybe you had an encounter with some Cutiefly or Ribombee? I'll ask around if you would like. Meanwhile, you should just rest some more. Berries are all well and good, but you still need rest. Okay? Just ask for if you need something." 

Link nodded. He had no idea what this creature was talking about, but it sounded like he wasn't going to get any information about the fairies, so he may as well try to rest. "Thank you," he said in as polite a tone as he could muster with his current energy. "My name is Link. It's nice to meet you." The creature smiled at him. 

"It's very nice to meet you too, Link. My name is Agatha, but if it would make a little one like you more comfortable to call me Grandma, you wouldn't be the only one in town." Link nodded again and smiled back. He'd never had a grandma before. It sounded nice. Grandma's smile broadened and she held out a paw. Link slowly sat up and reached out to grasp it for a handshake, but as he moved he once again was overcome by a feeling that something was _wrong_. He glanced down at his outstretched arm. 

And gave a surprised shout. 

His arm was _blue._


	2. Chapter 2

To be fair, this wasn't the first time Link had woken up to an altered body.

Of course, the other time he'd still woken up as himself. An older version of himself, yes, but still _himself._ Now Link didn't even know what he was. His arms ended in paws, crossing his eyes showed he had a muzzle instead of a normal human nose, looking down revealed his legs were black and shaped like a dog's, and now that he was paying attention to the sensations he felt from his foreign body? He was pretty sure he had a tail.

Somehow that bothered him the most. Now that he was aware of the tail, he couldn't help but notice it was crushed under the rest of him. It wasn't painful, exactly, but it was still uncomfortable.

Grandma fussing over him wasn't helping either.

"I am so sorry, Link!" she cried. "I should have known better! You shouldn't be moving this much yet!"

"Uh, it's okay," Link said. "It didn't hurt. I just, uh..."

"Are you sure? Do you need more berries?"

"I think I'm fine. Don't worry." Link fought to keep his tone even. At this point, he only wanted to be left alone so he could take a moment to regain his bearings. "You said you were going to ask about the fairies?"

Grandma blinked. "Oh. Yes, of course. You get some rest, dear." She gave a slight bow before exiting.

Now that he was alone, Link took the opportunity to look around. The room he was in was small and bare. Besides the hay bed he was currently using, there was nothing but an orange rug and a crammed bookshelf. Light came in through a circular window on the wall, but from this position Link couldn't catch even a glimpse of outside. Now that he was paying attention he thought he could make out a strange steady noise, almost like roaring, but it didn't sound dangerous. Besides, if it was something to worry about Grandma would have reacted to it.

He doubted he would find any clues to the source of his predicament here, so he shifted his attention to his own body. By twisting around he was able to see his tail. It was blue, like his paws, and appeared to be even bigger than it had felt.

What in the world had happened to him? He knew it was possible for the Lost Woods to send you somewhere completely different, but he'd never heard of someone being transformed in the process! Changing into a Skull Kid or a Stalfos after getting hopelessly lost, sure, but this was clearly not in the same category. Link had stumbled into a warp area and somehow transformed while passing through. It was unheard of. Maybe he had changed because of whatever magic was in this area instead of through Lost Woods magic? Or perhaps his transformation had something to do with whatever had the fairies so upset.

The first thing Link should do, he decided, was learn more about where he was. And also _what_ he was, since Grandma had recognized whatever weird creature he'd turned into. The best way to accomplish this was to milk locals like Grandma for information. It would be hard, but he doubted he'd get anywhere telling the truth and outright asking for help, so it was probably his best option. He'd need to get started as soon as possible.

Which could wait until after he'd gotten some sleep. After all, it's not like he knew how to take his next step until someone came to fetch him. Besides, Grandma was right; he really could use some rest.

Link lay back down, only to sit up as his tail started giving him trouble again. He grunted and shifted so he'd be lying on his side and ease the pressure on his tail. He sighed in relief. That tail had been more uncomfortable than he'd realized. He'd probably sleep better now, he thought as he let his head fall into the hay.

Only for something floppy to fall into his face.

Link's eye twitched.

* * *

"Hey, wake up! It's time for dinner!"

Link groaned and cracked an eye open. "Wha...?"

"Come _on!_ Grandma set up a spot for you and everything!" said a small yellow and black blur. "You don't wanna miss her soup, it'll make you feel better and it tastes really good!"

It had taken a while to find a comfortable position and he was still exhausted, but the mention of food banished any thought of sleep. "Soup?" He pushed himself up from his stomach.

"Yep!" The little creature grabbed his paw and pulled. "Come on, we gotta hurry!"

Link stumbled on his misshapen legs when he came to his feet, but managed to avoid falling over. The creature (probably a little kid, Link thought) bounced impatiently as Link wobbled, but as soon as he was mostly stable the kid started pulling Link out of the room. Link flailed for a moment, but before long he was being half-led and half-pulled down a long hall.

After what felt like several minutes but was probably only a few seconds, the two entered a larger room. "Here we are!" said the little creature. "Don't sit at the end though! That's Grandma's seat." With that the creature let go of Link's paw and bounded to a table on the far side of the room that had four stools sitting around it, one of which was already occupied by a different sort of yellow creature. Link took a moment to regain his balance and carefully made his way across. Strange how quickly he was adjusting to this body, he thought. Yes, walking was hard, but by all rights he probably shouldn't have been able to walk at all. Maybe the magic that transformed him was making it easier?

As Link eased himself onto a stool, the new creature nodded at him. "Hey, good to see you up. How are you feeling?"

"Better," Link admitted, "but still pretty weird."

"I'm not surprised. You were completely knocked out when I found you on the beach. You scared me, you know."

"A beach?" Link didn't know of any beaches. He must have been very far from home.

"Yeah. I guess you're having some problems remembering." The creature leaned over, paw extended. "I'm Bronte, by the way."

Link reached out and took hold of the paw with his own. "I'm Link. So, uh, I guess you're the granddaughter I was told about? You said you're the one who found me..."

"You got it." Bronte winked. "You owe me your life, so don't forget it!"

"Grandma did all the work," piped up the smaller creature. "You barely did anything!"

"Did so!" Bronte glared at the kid as the red dots on her cheeks started to... spark?

Link's eyes widened. "What's happening to your face?" he blurted. He immediately smacked his mouth with a paw. _Good job, Link. Asking someone about their face, how polite. Navi would be scolding you so hard right now._

Bronte, for her part, looked confused. "Huh? It's just electricity... wait, have you never met a Pikachu before?"

"A Pikachu?"

"Yeah." She pointed to the spot on her left cheek. "Pikachu like me can generate electricity with the sacs on our faces. So do Pichu like Austen," she waved a paw at the kid, "and Raichu like Grandma. But at the Pichu stage we can't really use it well without also hurting ourselves, so don't ask him to demonstrate."

"I can use electricity fine! I know Thunder Shock!"

"Well, Grandma told you not to until you evolve, so don't!"

Link nodded as though he understood what they were talking about. At least he'd learned a little about what his hosts were and what they were capable of. Now if only he could think of how to ask what _he_ was without sounding too weird.

"All right everyone!" called a voice. "Soup's ready!"

Grandma appeared from a nearby archway carrying a giant pot. Bronte poked Link's shoulder. "Make sure you eat everything she gives you," she advised, "Grandma made this soup specifically so you could get better!"

"Now Bronte," Grandma scolded. "Link is our guest, and he's still recovering. I'm going to understand if he can't eat a whole meal yet." She turned her eyes to Link after setting the pot onto the center of the table. "Do at least try though, dear. She's right, it will help you heal."

Link watched as she ladled out a yellow soup into each bowl. He sniffed it experimentally. He couldn't identify what was in the soup, but its aroma was soothing. And unexpectedly powerful. Did this soup actually have that strong a scent, or was his sense of smell stronger than it used to be?

Grandma, having just finished serving everybody, took her place on the remaining stool. "Okay, everyone! Dig in!" she announced. Austen cheered and immediately lowered his head to the table, shortly followed by Bronte and Grandma. Link stared as the trio began slurping the soup straight from the bowls. Did they not use spoons? Even the Kokiri used wooden utensils for meals like soup, and they didn't use utensils nearly as often as the Hylians Link had met.

Then again, a lack of manners was infinitely more comfortable for him than the strict manners expected around royalty. He still shuddered when thinking about the experience from when Zelda dragged him to dinner with her father after he'd warned them about Ganondorf. They used all these fancy utensils made of silver, and they followed all these bewildering rules. Zelda had done her best to teach him the expected table manners, but trying to remember and follow them all was overwhelming. There didn't seem to be any good reason for most of them. So in that sense, this situation was a huge step up for Link's personal comfort levels. He mentally shrugged and stuck his muzzle into his own bowl.

Oh, by the _Goddesses,_ this was some good soup. Grandma was a master. Link shoved his mouth deeper into the bowl as he gobbled it up as fast as he could.

"Hey! Slow down!" Bronte poked him again. "You're gonna be sick if you eat too fast!"

Link flushed and sat up. "Shorry," he said, without swallowing his current mouthful. Soup dribbled out of his mouth and handed on the table. Bronte flinched. Austen, on the other hand, started cracking up.

"Link," Grandma said in one of the sternest voices he'd ever heard (though Austen's laughter did reduce the effect a bit). "I understand you are still recovering, but we do not speak when we have food in our mouths. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes ma'am," Link stammered bashfully. So they did have table manners here. Just... not as many. Oops.

"Good." Grandma eyed him for a second longer, then moved her glare to Austen. "No more of that, young Pokemon. No laughing at our guest," she said in the same stern tone. Austen looked like he wanted to keep laughing, but he obediently stifled it and went back to his meal. Grandma's glare melted into a smile and she turned back to Link. "So, I suppose you like the soup?"

Link nodded. "Uh huh! It's really good!"

"I'm glad to hear it. Don't be shy now, it's best when it's hot!" With that, Grandma resumed eating. Link enthusiastically followed her example, though a bit more slowly than before.

* * *

After dinner, Grandma forbade Link from helping with the clean-up, explaining that guests weren't supposed to help with such things. Instead he stayed on his stool. Link was somewhat relieved to not be helping; he was still so unfamiliar with his body that he'd probably drop and break a bowl if he tried to carry it. Actually washing one was out of the question.

On the other hand, Grandma wiping up his dribbled soup was _embarrassing._ It made him feel like a helpless little baby.

"So, Link," Grandma said as she cleaned, "I talked to some Pokemon around town today. I'm sorry, but nobody has seen anyone matching the description of your fairies."

Link nodded wordlessly. He couldn't bring himself to be surprised, not when Grandma hadn't seemed to understand what he meant by _fairies_ in the first place.

"But doesn't mean we have to stop searching for clues! Bronte suggested she bring you to the spot she found you as soon as you're up for it. Maybe you'll remember something when you see it." Grandma straightened as she finished wiping up the soup and gave Link a hearty pat on the back. "Don't give up hope yet, dear."

Link looked up at her. "I feel better. Can we go there now?"

Grandma _hmmmed_ for a moment before answering. "Well, it's not too far... all right, if Bronte's okay with it and you promise to come home before it gets too dark. I'll let her know."

Link grinned and watched as Grandma returned to the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, he carefully took a few practice steps. If Grandma saw how unused he was to walking, she might think he wasn't well enough to go. He couldn't let that happen. The sooner Link could see the spot he'd landed, the better.

* * *

"Well. Guess you're ready, then," Bronte said a flat tone. Link winced.

He'd been doing a good job of walking, he'd thought. He'd managed a whole lap around the room and kept his legs steady the whole time.

Then Bronte had come in. Link hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings, so her appearance had been startling. And by "startling," he meant he'd tripped over his own tail.

If the look Bronte was giving him was any indication, she was far from impressed.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Link said as confidently as he could as he scrambled up from the floor. "I'm ready for anything."

Bronte rolled her eyes, grabbed a bag sitting near the room's entrance, and led him into the hall. Link looked to the end where he could see light streaming in. He blinked as he got near: the setting sun was shining into the house. There wasn't a door.

As soon as they were outside, Bronte fell onto all fours and started pawing at the ground impatiently. "Come on, Link, we gotta get moving." She pointed. "It's gonna be harder to come back than to get there." Link peered down the hillside in front of them and blanched. Bronte wasn't kidding. That was huge!

The journey quickly proved more difficult than hoped. All the walking Link had done so far was on a flat surface. On a steep hill like this it didn't take long for him to lose his balance. Fortunately for Link, Bronte seemed to be expecting this. She dashed over and was able to catch him before he could even hit the ground.

"You've gotta be kidding me," she grumbled as she straightened back to two legs. "Do I have to be your crutch the whole way?"

"Nah, I'll figure it out soon," Link said confidently. Then, after thinking it over, he added, "Or maybe we should go with that, so we aren't late getting back and we don't make Grandma mad."

"Good point," Bronte conceded. Link threw his arm around Bronte's shoulders and they steadily descended. Link almost lost his balance a few more times, but Bronte, despite glaring every time it happened, held him steady. Fortunately the path before them, despite being intimidatingly steep, was simple. It was mostly a straight shot before it twisted to the right. As they neared the bend, the roaring sound that had been ever- present since Link first woke up grow louder.

Finally they turned, and Link gasped. He had never seen a beach before. It was pretty, especially with the sunset. The roaring, he realized, was the sound of the water. And the bubbles! There were bubbles floating everywhere. One of them came near the duo and Link reached out to touch it. Bronte, despite her annoyance, laughed.

"Yeah, the Krabby make those every evening. Austen likes to come out and chase them sometimes. They're something, huh?"

"They sure are!" Link crossed his eyes as another bubble brushed his nose.

"We can come back and play with bubbles some other time. We have to check out the spot where you fell, right?" Bronte reminded him. "Plus I have some questions for you."

"Right." Link let Bronte lead him down the beach along the ocean's edge. The sand felt good, he thought. He liked the way it squished between his toes. It was different from desert sand. He'd gotten sand in his shoes while in the Gerudo Desert, and he'd even walked around barefoot a bit while trying to shake the sand out of them. That sand had been hot and dry, and in Link's opinion very unpleasant. This sand was cool and wet.

Before long they reached a spot near a large boulder. Bronte let go of him and pointed. "Okay, this is where I found you. Do you remember how you got here?"

"Sorry, no." Link said. "Last I remember I was in a forest."

"A forest." Bronte narrowed her eyes and tensed. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's kind of hard to explain."

"I'll bet it is." Bronte huffed, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them again after forcing herself to relax. "Sorry, I should start over. Like I said, I have some questions. Did you know you materialized out of nothing in the sky?" Link didn't respond. Bronte seemed to this as confirmation. "Yeah. So where'd you actually come from? I know you didn't Teleport. Riolu don't learn that move."

 _Riolu._ Link mentally seized the term. It could only be the name for what he was now. He went over it in his head a few times before responding."Look, it's kind of a long story."

"A long story, you say?" Bronte's ear twitched. "What, like maybe something to do with the Grand Gulf Temple? You know anything about that?"

"Huh?" Link frowned. "I've never even heard of a Grand Gulf Temple. Why are you asking me about _that?_ "

Bronte stared at him for a minute. Finally, she sighed and turned away. "Sorry. It's just... weird stuff's been happening here already, and then you fell out of the sky. At first I was just scared to watch someone get so badly hurt, but then I started to wonder if you showing up had something to do with it, you know?"

"Well..." Link hesitated. He wasn't sure how much he should tell Brone, but she already knew something was up. This was his best chance to find answers so far. "There was weird stuff happening in the forest, too. Maybe those weird things are connected. But the whole story is going to be pretty hard to believe."

Bronte snorted. "Nobody believes what I have to say either. I mean, they can see the Grand Gulf Temple is gone, but I saw it happen and no one believes me when I tell them _how._ "

"Okay." Link held out a paw. "Let's agree to tell each other our stories, then. And promise to believe each other."

The edges of Bronte's mouth quirked upwards. "Probably not smart to promise you'll believe something before you even hear it. But sure, I'll take that deal." She grasped Link's paw and shook. "So what's your story, Link?"


	3. Chapter 3

Bronte had her unimpressed face on again.

"So to recap," she said, "you are actually something called a _Hylian_ , which I've never heard of but sounds like is some race of human. I've also never heard of the place you say you came from, Hyrule, where these 'Hylians' and other races live, but there aren't any Pokemon. You were in a forest when a bunch of fairies—not fairy-type Pokemon, but an entirely separate category of beings called fairies—were panicking about something, and when you tried to chase them for information you fell through a portal and wound up here?"

Link nodded and shuffled around a bit in the sand. They'd sat down at some point during his tale. "That's pretty much it, yeah."

"And yet you are obviously not a human."

"I guess I must have transformed somehow when I went through the warp."

"Humans are myths."

"Well I've never even heard of any Pikachu or Riolu or Pokemon before, but here you are," Link argued. "Besides, I've run into things that were supposed to be myths before. Stories come from somewhere, right?"

Bronte's ears flattened for a moment. "Yeah, I suppose…" She shook herself. "Well, your story sounds utterly, completely, one hundred percent _ridiculous_ , and I almost regret making this deal with you."

"Hey! I'm telling the truth!" Link protested.

" _Almost,_ Link." Bronte rolled her eyes. "I did promise to believe you, so I'm at least giving you the benefit of the doubt. No matter how ridiculous you sound."

Link sighed. "I guess that's the best I can ask for."

"And I'm taking it back if you don't believe _my_ story." Bronte's eyes glinted. "So you better listen up."

"Hold on." Link raised a paw. "I think first you need to explain what the Grand Gulf Temple is."

"Right." Bronte pointed out over the sea. "For as long as anybody can remember, there was an enormous fancy temple in the middle of the gulf that we could all see from the shore. Only the top of the temple could be seen from above water, but even that part was big and noticeable. It looked like a vivid blue and red egg. We don't really know how big it was, since some of it was below the seafloor, but even just from what we could see we knew it was gigantic. Occasionally you'd have Pokemon going out and trying to enter it, but no one ever found a way inside. Nobody know what exactly it was or why it was there. Most Pokemon around here don't even care anymore, but there are theories that it might be connected to a powerful legendary Pokemon. Does that explain anything?"

Link squinted at the spot Bronte was pointing at, trying to imagine the Temple. "I guess so. But then what happened to it?"

"It was the middle of the night about three weeks ago." Bronte winced. "I kind of sneaked out, actually. I wanted to practice some moves. But anyway, I was out here on the beach when a second moon appeared."

"A second… moon?" Link's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

"No idea. The extra one showed up right above the Temple. It released this big burst of energy and then," Bronte spread her arms wide, "the Temple collapsed. Then there was even more energy from the moon, and it hit that spot again. And again. And so on, until finally it stopped." She lowered her arms and her tail drooped. "And then I went home and told Grandma, but she just told me to stop telling stories and go to bed like I was supposed to."

"But she saw the Temple was gone later, right?"

"She did. But she didn't believe my story. She thought I was too tired and scared to see anything right, that I developed tunnel vision and saw two moons where there was only one. That what I saw wasn't accurate. And so does everybody else I've told about it!" Bronte punched the sand in front of her. "And none of them even see why it's a big deal, either! They think it's just a weird building that got too old and collapsed, and that's not worth caring about! But you know what? I'm thinking it's actually worse than I ever would have guessed before."

Link felt a sense of foreboding fall over him. He knew perfectly well how bad the consequences could be when things went wrong with sacred legendary magic. "Why?"

 _"It hasn't rained!"_ Bronte moved her paw to the sky. Link turned his head up to look. Now that she'd mentioned it, he couldn't see a single cloud. "It used to rain all the time," she continued, "but it hasn't rained once since the Temple was destroyed. Three weeks without rain! If we didn't have ways to desalinate seawater we'd be in way worse trouble than we are, but we can't make it without rain forever! _We are so screwed!_ "

"What does _desalinate_ mean?"

Bronte blinked, her mind knocked off-track. "Huh?"

"Desalinate. What does that word mean?"

"Uh, it means to get the salt out of water from the ocean so you can drink it."

"You can't drink ocean water?"

Bronte stared at him with an inscrutable expression. "... No."

"Oh."

The two sat in a silence broken only by the waves as Link considered the story. A potentially sacred site had been destroyed, and it hadn't rained since. That didn't sound like a coincidence. But a second moon? Where would something like that come from? It sounded outlandish. Well, he supposed it was as believable as a kid falling into another world and transforming into a _Riolu_ thing, so maybe the outlandishness of the tale didn't matter.

If that was the case, why were the fairies so worked up at the same time something bad was happening here? Was there a connection? What could that connection possibly be?

"What if there were fairies who came here and they were stuck in the Temple when it was attacked?" Link wondered. "I heard those fairies say _missing_ …"

Bronte shook her head. "No, that doesn't make sense. You said they'd been fine not too long before you got here, right? You'd talked with a few the day before. The Temple's been gone for longer than that."

"Then what's going on?"

"How should I know? I've never even seen these weird non-Pokemon fairies. As far as I know they transformed into Pokemon like you did and we'd never even notice if they were here."

It was Link's turn to shake his head. "Nah, I'm pretty sure if it was as simple as that they'd have appeared with me. Every warp spot I've found in the Lost Woods always takes you to the same place. Instead I showed up alone. Maybe they did come through the warp and change, but something else would have to happen to make them not show up in the same spot I did. And you definitely would have noticed them if they _did_ appear with me."

"I'm no expert on magical forest portals, so I'm gonna have to defer to your expertise here," Bronte admitted. Without any other ideas, they lapsed into a contemplative silence once again. Link gazed at the view before him and thought it was strangely peaceful. The waves coming in and out were almost hypnotic. The spell was somewhat broken when the larger waves came out far enough to surround he and Bronte with water before receding again, but the sensation of sand being pulled out from under him as the water receded was relaxing in its own way.

It was hard to be too stressed out here, even with all the worries weighing him down. He wished there could have been a place like this in Hyrule for him to visit when he needed a break. Not that there was anything wrong with the options he did have (Link maintained nothing could get an exhausted hero back in the game quite like a few hours of fishing) but Lake Hylia couldn't begin to compare with this.

Finally, Link looked at the darkening sky and gasped. "Oh no!" he said. "We're going to be late! Grandma's going to be so mad at us!" While Link doubted it was dark enough quite yet to worry Grandma yet, it was still darker than before. Even the Krabby had decided it was late enough to go home if the lack of bubbles was any indication. At Link's slow pace Grandma would not be happy by the time they returned. He repressed a groan as he turned his eyes back the way they came and pictured the hill he would see as soon as he turned the corner.

Bronte, however, only grinned mischievously. "Are you sure?" she asked. She stood up and stepped away, gesturing him to follow. Link gulped and shakily stood.

As soon as he was balanced, Bronte said, "Try to walk on your own until we reach the hill. Sand is harder to walk on, so if you can manage that you're well on your way to moving like a regular Riolu." She then turned and moseyed the way they'd come, leaving Link behind. He gritted his teeth and carefully took his first step.

At first, while still at the water's edge, walking by himself wasn't too difficult. It was when he reached drier sand the real difficulties started. The sand moved whenever he moved, and when he shifted his weight while lifting a foot it caused the sand around his other foot to shift too, throwing off his balance.

He only fell over once, though. That was something. He almost fell over again when he finally got off the sand onto more solid ground but kept moving in the same way, but he caught himself, so only the one fall actually counted. And once he'd adjusted, he found that he really was improving. Practice makes perfect, he mused.

Even with his improvements, though, the beach walk had taken too much out of Link to put him in any mood for the rest of the journey. This time he actually did audibly groan as he approached Bronte, who was waiting at the hill's foot.

"Not bad, especially considering how much different your human body must be," she said. "With that in mind your progress is really impressive. So anyway, I think it's your tail that's throwing you off. Humans don't have those, right? I can tell you aren't trying to use it. Pay attention to it and move it as necessary; it's a good balancing tool."

"I'll keep that in mind," Link muttered as he twitched his own tail. It still felt weird to have one, much less to have control over it, but that was the way life was for him. Weird thing after weird thing. Link sighed as he let his legs collapse beneath him. He didn't get a moment's respite, however, since Bronte pulled him right back to his feet.

"Come on. It's a straight shot from here. You can walk straight, can't you?"

"But we have to go _up_ ," Link whined. "I don't wanna go up."

Bronte smirked. "Well, if that's how you feel, I do have another option for you…"

" _Yes, please._ "

"Are you sure?" After Link nodded, the smirk grew as Bronte pulled a stick out of her bag. "If you insist. Get ready."

"Huh? What—" Link cut himself off when he felt the sensation of something invisible grabbing him around the waist, and he yelped as he was yanked up the hill. The scenery passed in a blur that somehow made him nauseous despite his certainty he'd left his stomach behind. And suddenly, just as quickly as it began, it stopped at the side of the house.

Bronte snickered as Link fell onto his rear. "See?" she said. "We're practically there."

Link blinked until the world had settled into place, then glared at the mirthful Pikachu. "What the heck _was_ that?!"

"It's called a pounce wand." Bronte held out a paw to help Link up, which he gratefully took. "The person who waves it pounces forward until they would hit something. And if you've got someone with you when you wave it, it warps them along." She pulled him up to his feet. "You get used to the warp really fast, but even so," the corners of her mouth twitched up, "it's a lot more pleasant to be the Pokemon waving the wand than the one being pulled along."

"And you didn't warn me?" Link said indignantly. She lightly punched his shoulder.

"Consider it payback for all the trouble, you lazybones."

Link rolled his eyes and playfully swatted her with his tail.

He was proud to say he kept his balance in the process.

* * *

Link looked uncertainly into the room. "Are you really sure this is fine?"

"Of course!" Grandma exclaimed. "Bronte is just fine sharing Austen's room for now. Isn't that right?"

"Yeah, if anyone's against this arrangement, it's Austen." Bronte grinned. "But he'll get used to it."

"If you're sure…" Link hated to take Bronte's bedroom, but both Grandma and Bronte insisted he get a room to himself during his stay. Link honestly wouldn't mind sleeping on a floor somewhere (Goddesses knew he'd slept in all sorts of uncomfortable places before) but the Pokemon wouldn't hear of it.

Bronte pushed past Link. "Don't worry, I'm sure. Just let me grab some books before you make yourself comfortable, okay?"

"Don't keep Austen up too late with your reading, Bronte," Grandma gently scolded.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Link glanced at the shelves. "What's with all these books?" he asked.

"I read a lot," Bronte said, pulling titles out seemingly at random. "It's a nice hobby."

"Bronte was reading almost as soon as she was talking," Grandma bragged. "We're all very proud of her."

"It's not that big a deal, Grandma!"

"Oh." Link looked at the ground in shame. "That's cool, I guess."

Bronte misinterpreted his actions. "You can read some if you want," she offered. "It's okay, I don't mind. I share books with other Pokemon around sometimes."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, good night, Link!" Grandma waved as she exited. "You can keep the torch lit for a while, but I suggest you put it out like we showed you and get to sleep early. I'm sure you're exhausted after everything that's happened today."

"Yeah. Good night." Link waited until the pair had left him alone, then took a worn-looking green book that had been lying horizontally on top of some properly shelved books. As he examined it, glee bubbled up inside of him. Not one symbol on the cover was familiar. He flipped through the pages to confirm it; the Pokemon in this land used a completely different writing system from Hyrule.

He had an acceptable excuse for not being able to read.

It wasn't entirely his fault. Books were rare in Kokiri Forest, so learning to read wasn't a priority. He could recognize some words, especially if they were on those signs that had been in the village for as long as Link could remember, but not much else. Even so, the fact remained: Link had failed to improve after leaving. Navi had always just read aloud any words they encountered during their journey. She'd tried to teach him when they had time, but they'd been so busy that those times didn't come as often as they needed. Link was usually not in the mood for reading lessons when they did.

But with his fairy gone, Link didn't have a way to understand any but the most basic of written words. He'd told himself he would take up Zelda's offer of tutoring as soon as he found Navi.

Link swallowed to try and remove the lump in his throat. He made his way to the torch to put it out, not noticing he still held the book until he was halfway there. He paused for a moment, then shrugged and changed his path to the bed, bringing the book with him.

He might not have been able to read it, but there were plenty of interesting pictures in the book. Some of them looked like fantastic beings from beyond his imagination. Perhaps they were other Pokemon? It would be handy to know what he could expect to see later.

Link flipped through the book (its cover emblazoned with the symbols MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF CHYSYOGA, whatever that meant) and admired the drawings. The Pokemon were portrayed as larger-than-life beings in powerful poses, obviously revered by the artist. One showed two strange long-necked creatures flying through the clouds, the first white and red and the other white and blue. Another showed a small group of hoofed creatures fighting against an army of shadowy Pokemon. Was this a book of stories about heroic Pokemon from the past? Sometimes the Deku Tree would tell the Kokiri stories about ancient heroes. Link used to love those stories. He still did, to be honest, but it wasn't fun to imagine himself as a hero from the story anymore now that he'd had his own adventures. The stories made it sound like adventures were fun.

Link yawned; he probably should take Grandma's advice and go to sleep. He put the book back on the bookshelf, took a moment to feel proud of himself for doing so much better at walking, put out the lights, and went to bed.

He and Bronte could figure out their next move tomorrow.


End file.
